Distinguishing Love

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” 

(rf. Jn. 21:15-17 NKJV)

            February is known as “the month of love”. Especially on St. Valentine’s Day, we celebrate the idea of love. However, “love” has many facets as we will see, depending on the language we are using to convey it.

            For example, we will take the interchange between Jesus and Peter above. Both men are using the word, “love”, in their questions and responses. However, what is not apparent in the English translation is readily disclosed in the Koine Greek in which the passage was initially written. Jesus is asking Peter if he, Peter, agapeo Jesus. That is, Jesus is wanting to see if Peter loves him, Jesus, unconditionally. Peter answers Jesus’ question that he, Peter, loves Jesus philo, with a brotherly love. Twice, Jesus uses the term, agapeo, while Peter continues to respond, philo. It is not until the third time does Jesus switch his term to accommodate Peter by asking if Peter phileis him to which Peter says “Yes, Lord, you know I love/(philo) you.” With each response by Peter, Jesus charges Peter to “feed or shepherd/tend my lambs/sheep”. We know that Jesus was actually recalling Peter to the Gospel ministry after Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times before His crucifixion (rf. Matt. 26:69-75). Jesus questions Peter here once for every time of Peter’s previous denial to show that Peter was forgiven completely.

            I share all of this detail with you because it is imperative that we understand the differences in the uses and meanings of these words. In the English, we can say, “I love my spouse”’, “I love my children”, “I love chocolate” and “I love my pet”, using the very same word, yet meaning four different actions. On the contrary, the Koine Greek in which the New Testament was written is very specific in words and meaning. The English word, “love” has four different Greek counterparts, each depending on context for meaning. Agapeo from which we get “agape or agape love” means unconditional love, the same love that God has for us. This is the kind of love that leads to and is expressed by saving faith. Phileo is brotherly love, love between siblings, characterized by intense loyalty and devotion. This is the reason Peter responded to Jesus’ questions by using this word. This is the word that is at the root of the name, Philadelphia, “city of brotherly love”.  Two other Greek words for “love” are eros and stergo. Eros is the love shared between a man and a woman in marriage that binds them together in physical union. It is sexual in nature. Stergo is the love shared between parents and children typically but can also be used to speak of the devotion of a people to their ruler or the love of persons and their pet. 

            Though the different meanings and uses in Greek can be quite a leap from our English translation, the distinctness of the original language should be a catalyst for us to enhance our own study of the Scriptures. As well, especially in this case, it should awaken us to the need to pursue love and apply it accordingly. We should explore the love of our spouse (eros) and our children (stergo) more diligently and make sure that we are without question sharing God’s love (agapeo) to everyone even as we have experienced it ourselves. We should also provide an example of true “brotherly love” (phileo) with our fellow believers in Christ, specifically, since we are all members of His family. 

            Remember that it would be by His love that the world would know that we are His disciples (rf. Jn. 13:35). Therefore, we should be known by His love and express it freely and appropriately so that others might come to know Him as well.

God Doing New Things

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (rf. II Cor. 5:17 NKJV)

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (rf. Is. 43:18-19a ESV)

            Here we are on the threshold of a new decade as well as a new year. It is hard to believe that the previous time is over and put forever in the history books. If we are reading this article, the Lord has granted us more time in life, time to reflect on the past and time to move into the future. How we do this is just as important as the fact that we are privileged to do so.

            The Apostle Paul and the prophet Isaiah agree on a basic principle for us to consider, one, if implemented, will bring tremendous blessing to our lives and those around us. The principle is a very simple one: let the past be past, fix our eyes on the future and what God has in store for us.

            God is about making things new by His power. If we have personally experienced His salvation in Christ, we know this to be true. As Paul states, we are now “a new creation”. He has begun something afresh in us and will bring it to completion in Christ (rf. Php. 1:6). He expects us not live in the past by the sinful ways from which He has delivered us. Rather, He wants us to move forward in His strength and grace to embrace the fact that “all things have become new”. 

            By the same token, Isaiah encourages his readers to look to the Lord who is bringing about “a new thing”. Indeed, the picture is one of God displaying His hand while pointing to this “new thing” and asking if “not perceive it”? In other words, God is at work in our lives and He wants us to be discerning and perceptive as to the “new thing” is accomplishing. We cannot do this if we are bound up in “the former things...the things of old”. The purpose of the past and its recall is for us to learn from our mistakes, be thankful for the blessings, laying a foundation for us to go forward. 

            He means for His people to have a vision of moving into the future, trusting Him completely to provide all of our needs according to the paths He wants us to take. We should, therefore, adjust our perspectives and attitudes accordingly. If we keep the past in the past and our eyes on what is ahead, we will be better prepared for all that God has in store for us. We will then be ready to receive the blessings He has for us to experience.

The Importance of the Deity of Christ in the Christmas Story

“Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (rf. Is. 7:14 ESV)

            It is very easy for us to grow complacent and take something for granted when we have heard it told to us time and again. We know the words of “Amazing Grace” by heart because we were raised with it and other hymns enveloping us as we grew up, yet how often does the meaning of those words escape us as we sing them. The same can be said for the Christmas story and the Scriptures that surround the events of that special evening long ago when our Savior, Jesus Christ, entered into the world.

            I confess that I had not realized the significance of this verse outside of its context during the Advent season until I was given the opportunity of witnessing the truth of Christianity and its doctrines to two sweet Jehovah Witness ladies one Saturday morning. As I attempted to show them the fallacy of their own beliefs regarding Jesus as a god (notice the small “g”), secondary to Jehovah God, using their own translation of the Bible (the New World Translation), one of them confronted me with the question, “So you believe in the Trinity?” to which I answered, “Absolutely. Yes.”

            This may come as a surprise to some of you as readers. Jehovah’s Witnesses are NOT Christians. They do not believe that God is three Persons, one Substance, that is, that God is a Trinity. They cannot fathom that we affirm and believe that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, separate Persons, but all three being God at one time, concurrently. I agree that this is a mind-boggling concept, but it is nonetheless true and what the Bible teaches throughout its pages, although you will not find the word, “Trinity”, anywhere so designated in the Scriptures.

            In any case, I brought to their attention the above passage from Isaiah among others. We agreed that this one not only foreshadowed the coming of Jesus and His virgin birth, it also showed the specialness regarding His mother, Mary, being a “virgin”. However, they were somewhat confounded when I then pointed out the name that was to be given this “Son”—“Immanuel” which when joined with the corresponding account in Matthew (1:23) states, “which translated means ‘God with us’”. They wanted to downplay the phrase by saying that God is always with us in a very general sense. Yet I told them that was not at all what the prophet Isaiah nor the Apostle Matthew was conveying. By attaching the name, “Immanuel”, including the “-el” in the preceding name which refers to “God” or Jehovah in the Hebrew of the Old Testament, both Isaiah and Matthew were clearly stating Jesus was God in the flesh Who had come to earth in the form of a child to be “with us”, mere human beings, in order to fulfill the Father’s will.

            Though I did not convince my Jehovah’s Witness audience that day of the truth of Jesus being God, it did serve to reinforce the truth that He came to be “with us” to understand life as a human. Only by being fully human and fully God could Jesus Christ take away the sin that separated us from God His Father and do so once for all. Only now as God the Son can He be our High Priest and advocate on our behalf before His Father for our spiritual and physical best interests, answering our prayers daily according to the Father’s will. What a treasure we truly have in Jesus as our “Immanuel”. What a gift He is to us as “God with us”. Never let us forget it!

"Let the Peace of Christ Rule in (Our) Hearts..."

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” (rf. Col. 3:15 ESV)

            We no doubt face hard and difficult times in life. Some who read these words at this time are going through a rough patch, possibly finding it painful to even think of seeing something good in their lives for which to give thanks. It is easy, as we well know, for us to get caught up in the negative circumstances that surround us. When we do, they overwhelm our souls as well as our senses, dragging us down quickly to the pit of despair. Yet, as the Apostle Paul intimates, this is not what God wants for us. He has a greater desire for His people.

            In this passage, Paul uses strong language to show that the Lord wants His followers to experience very important things in their lives on an ongoing basis: peace and thankfulness. To this end, the Lord Himself has “called” us. Let’s explore this concept for a moment. To the modern mind, the idea of “calling” is one that allows for the opportunity to turn away from such an action, to rebel against it so that one can follow his/her own path. There is an inbred antipathy toward “calling” because it speaks of One who knows better than we do what our future should be, what our best interests are. Thus, we tend to turn away from Him who provides us the very best of what could be ours if we would only follow His directions.

            In this case, our “calling” is two-fold. First of all, we are “called in one body”. So, we must understand the “calling” to which Paul is referring is not an individual “calling”, but a corporate one. It belongs to all who are members of Christ’ Church, to all who have experienced His true salvation. Secondly, we are called to “let the peace of Christ rule in (our) hearts”. Notice that we are not merely to ask that His peace come into our hearts, but that His peace “rule” there. Just like a king upon a throne, His peace is to exert its “rule” over us in every area of our lives. We should submit ourselves to this peace always. Only then will we know and experience this “calling” of Christ.

            When we do, we will “be thankful”; we will know and understand the full extent of thankfulness. As His peace pervades our hearts and minds, we will have the opportunity of appreciating what it means to be at peace with ourselves, with others, but, most importantly, with God Himself. The longer His peace rules us, the more we will grow in that appreciation and the greater our level of thankfulness will become. 

            We definitely need more peace and thankfulness in our day. It may be that we need to revisit Paul’s words to us in this passage and apply them. If the issue is one of control and our need to rule our own lives, thoughts, and motivations, then this might be a good opportunity to review our own relationship with Christ since we have not submitted our own selves to Him, obviously. For the age-old dictum is very true: no Christ, no peace; know Christ, know peace. In this case, to know Him and to have His peace rule our hearts is to experience thankfulness as He has designed. May this be each of our experience with Him today.

God Speaks to Our Anger and Bitterness

“For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.” (rf. 2 Sam. 13:22 NKJV)

            The above passage reflects one of the saddest entries in Israel’s history. David’s son, Amnon had fallen in love with his half-sister, Tamar. Tamar was Absalom’s full sister. Both he and his sibling were the children of a marriage borne of political advantage, King David joining Israel with the king of Geshur by wedding his daughter, Talmai (rf. II Sam. 3:3). Amnon, however, through deceit, took advantage of Tamar and raped her. This act of violence came to light to both Absalom and King David. Yet, because Amnon was son of the king, no justice or negative repercussions came his way, much to Absalom’s consternation. Because of this inaction on David’s part, great bitterness grew in the heart of Absalom. Like all grudges, this one bore fruit later with his murder of Amnon and his rebellion and attempt to overthrow the reign of his father, King David. These actions led to his own violent death (rf. II Sam. 18:14-18). Who needs soap operas? The Bible has its own sordid dramas.

            What this excerpt shows in glowing detail is the powerful nature of inhibited anger and bitterness over time in the heart of an individual. We were never designed by God to keep our hurt bottled up nor were we created to address such deep, penetrating pain ourselves. He alone has the capacity to shoulder our griefs and heartache (rf. Is. 53:4) and to deal with them in a right manner. When we try to handle them ourselves, we only come away with a heart full of bitterness and strife, living in a perpetual downward spiral of negativity, always fighting an inward battle of bad memories and harmful, damaging self-images. This is not to mention the adverse and destructive effect our inward feelings have on our outward relationships. One cannot harbor bitter feelings and they not leak out of our pores onto those around us!

            The Scriptures themselves bear out these truths. They tell us that our anger can never produce God’s righteousness in our lives (rf. Jas. 1:20). We are told to disperse our anger on the same day that we feel it, but to do so constructively, not destructively, because to harbor it creates a heart full of bitterness (rf. Eph. 4:26). Indeed, the better course, according to God’s Word, is to avoid bitterness and anger altogether; get rid of it if it is present (rf. Eph. 4:31). Be honest with the Lord as to its true cause and nature. He knows what it is already, but He wants us to be accurate in our assessment for our own benefit in our confession to Him. Only then will our request for forgiveness be genuine and thorough. Then, when we are cleansed from the bitterness in our hearts, we should make the commitment to avoid taking that downward spiral ever again by addressing our anger forthrightly when it occurs in the future, sharing it and its cause with the Lord at the outset. He is the One who has promised to take care of all issues regarding His people. That includes matters of the heart and of justice, as needed (rf. Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30).

            When our hearts are thoroughly emptied of bitterness, negativity, hurt and pain, we will find ourselves refreshed and renewed in ways far beyond the scope of our comprehension. We will see life as the Lord desires for us to—abundant, new and free from the past. We will then be able to pursue Him and His will with a vigor that we have not experienced before. 

            If your struggle has been with such a burdened heart, my hope is for you to find peace and joy. May the encouragement given be a step in that direction.

The Lord Establishes Our Steps

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”(rf. Prov. 16:9 ESV)

            I am always amazed at this dichotomy between the inherent arrogance and pride of man and the absolute sovereignty of Almighty God. Indeed, this interplay between the perception of power to control on the part of mankind and the reality of God to rule all things is a wonder to behold. It has actually been a major player behind the theology of American Christianity for the better part of the last century and Christians in most American churches had no real idea that this issue was going on. If questioned, many would have felt like that God was somewhere out there, but He had gone on vacation for awhile and left human beings at the wheel of His creation to take care of things in His absence.

            Today, within the Church, there is still the glorification of man’s will over God’s as if we as humans are somehow superior to Him. Indeed, we were made in His image (rf. Gen. 1:26-27). As such, we were endowed with a will to make choices. These choices of good or ill, right or wrong have very real consequences in this life by God’s design. He did not make us to be robots or puppets. However, being created in His image does not in any respect put us on the same level as God nor does it place us above Him. 

            Solomon understood this implicitly and put forth this principle in a very practical manner. If we are wise as human beings, we will rightly discern our place in the universe and act accordingly. We would make our plans with the understanding that these schemes are not written in stone nor should they be considered so by ourselves or others. We must always be adaptable. Why, you may ask? Why can we not be certain in our own determinations? Solomon gives us the answer in the second part of the proverb: “but the Lord establishes his steps.”

            You see, as the old saying goes, “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men” often go awry (by the Scottish poet Robert Burns) so it does not pay to lock down one’s vision as certain. The only true certainty is the Lord’s will in any matter. What the Lord Himself has determined for us will no doubt come to pass. This is the contrast that Solomon is presenting to the reader. We cannot make our plans firm and sure. God, however, has already established His plans in our lives and in the universe; therefore, His plans are without question guaranteed and assured. We can make our plans, but it is the Lord who will “establish (our) steps”.

            Is this teaching predestination? Yes, absolutely! Knowing that the God of Scripture is all-powerful, able to plan and execute His designs without fail in line with His righteous character is a tremendously comforting thought to the believer in Christ. This wondrous Heavenly Father is and has been busy about “establish(ing our) steps” long before we ever began making our plans. Therefore, as we trust in Him by faith, we can be confident in the outcome, understanding that our faith is not in our plans, but, rather, it is in Him who is leading us every step of the way.

Remembering...Yet Looking Forward

“Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

(rf. Rom. 11:5 NKJV)

Being exposed to busyness as we are, we tend to overlook the many expressions around us that declare God’s greatness. From time to time, we are confronted with a phenomenal work of His that does grasp our attention long enough for us to pause to acknowledge His handiwork. Then we tend to move on to other things that we deem important.

            This month we have a unique opportunity to take some designated time to stop and really focus on what God has been, is doing and really wants to do in the lives of His people, specifically here at St. John’s. We are entering into our official celebration of the Centennial anniversary of the founding of our church, giving God the glory for 100 years of the privilege of ministering to the people of Kannapolis. As we rejoice for God’s grace in keeping St. John’s here for a century of service, we must reflect on the reality of such a blessing. 

            The fact of the matter is, compared to the total number of churches that have been started or planted, few last so long. Some die by attrition. Others are closed or combined with sister churches purposefully by their respective denominations. In some locations, their hollowed shells dot the countryside. In other places, the only remembrance of their existence is a notation in a history book found in a long deserted corner of a library. 

            To further provide perspective, on our trips to Scotland over the years, my wife and I (and various mission groups) saw centuries-old cathedrals and churches with “for sale” signs adorning their yards and front doors. We witnessed the previous conversion of these once grand places of worship into art museums, personal homes, and, sickening to even state it, haunted houses. The largest two denominations in Scotland were shuttering churches at an alarming rate per year while we were there. Obviously, our prayers are needed for the people for Scotland that this trend should be reversed and, with a great spiritual renewal in their land, these places of worship would be required once more.

            However, the joy we share is that God is very much still at work in the hearts and minds of the people of St. John’s. He has brought His people through much in the last 100 years. He has much more in store for us in the years to come. What we can learn from both the testimony of Scripture and from the experiences of those mentioned above is that nothing is guaranteed. We cannot afford to take anything for granted. As God’s people, we must ALWAYS continue forward, trusting in the power of His Spirit, following the truths of His Word, living out the principles of holiness as examples of Christ before the eyes of the world, not as displays of perfection, but as reflections of His grace. If we devote ourselves to His service, fully surrendered to His direction and His use, filled with His Spirit, He will continue to fulfill His will through us and keep our place here for generations to come. If we forsake Him and His truth, like so many other formerly vibrant fellowships before us, our church will become a relic of days gone by, eventually consigned to the pages of history, a mere afterthought of what might have been.

            As we close one book of a century of service and open a new and exciting chapter, the pages before us have yet to be written. They are completely blank. How will we fill them? Are we open to whatever God desires of us as a church body to do and to be our best to reach the Kannapolis community and to glorify Him? Are we devoted to keeping in mind that St. John’s is Christ’s church and not our own to do with as He pleases? We must each ask these questions of ourselves. The answers will largely determine our future and how He chooses (or not) to use us for the century yet to come.